The role of reproductive health in musculoskeletal aging: A life-course approach

In the United States, older individuals (≥65 years), account for about 34% of healthcare expenditures with women accounting for 22% greater expenditure than men. Musculoskeletal disease and disability alone costs nearly $950 billion/year. Over 40% of older women (≥70 years) live with disability and/or functional limitations. These gender differences suggest the role of gender specific factors. In addition to greater lifetime risk of chronic diseases like arthritis, depression and osteoporosis, women are more likely to accumulate greater allostatic load from physiological insults and dysregulation across the reproductive life course. Together, these factors could increase the risk of functional limitations and disability in older women. However, our current understanding of the effect of women’s reproductive health (menarche, parity, breastfeeding, menopause, hysterectomy and oophorectomy) on age related structural and functional changes is limited. Understanding these associations could have significant public health implications on disability prevention in later life. Through this dissertation, we assessed the associations of reproductive factors across the life course, with physical function decline, risk of hip osteoarthritis (OA) and changes in hip geometry in later life. We found that women with early life reproductive factors like later age at menarche, greater parity and breastfeeding were more likely to maintain their grip strength in later life. These findings are likely due to lifestyle factors associated with child rearing. In contrast, same cohort of women demonstrated associations between greater parity and breastfeeding with lower risk of radiographic hip OA. These findings maybe attributable to pregnancy related changes at the hip joint. In a cohort of midlife women, early life reproductive factors including older age at first birth, and breastfeeding with associated with unfavorable levels and accelerated change in hip geometry measure during the menopausal transition (MT). Changes in Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) and Sex Hormone Binding Globulin (SHBG) were associated with poorer hip geometry levels and accelerated its change during the MT. Put together, the 3 studies demonstrated associations between early life reproductive health and musculoskeletal structure and function in later life. Future understanding of underlying mechanisms could help design targeted interventions to prevent disability in later life

Associations between complement proteins and arterial calcification in mid-life women: Role of cardiovascular fat, the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN)

The risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) increases in women after menopause along with levels of complement protein C3. Recent data has shown higher cardiovascular fat in postmenopausal women. Increasing evidence suggest this fat depots are a source of cytokines and various inflammatory markers. Both complement protein C3 and cardiovascular fat are associated with increased risk of CVD. The association between these factors needs to be evaluated in women at midlife. Hypothesis: Circulating complement protein levels in women at midlife are positively associated with arterial calcification, and this association can be explained by higher volumes of cardiovascular fat. Methods: Pilot data from the SWAN were used. C3 and C4 were measured by immunoturbidimetric assay. EBCT scans were used to measure the arterial calcification (aortic-AC and coronary-CAC) using Agatston scores and the volumes of fat around the heart (total heart adipose tissue-TAT) and the descending thoracic aorta (perivascular adipose tissue-PVAT). Arterial calcification and fat volumes were log transformed. Tobit regression was used for statistical analyses. Results: A total of 100 women (50% late peri/postmenopausal; 73% Caucasian) were included. In models adjusted for age, race, menopausal status, and LDL-C, C3 was significantly associated with both CAC (β(SE)=0.43(0.17),p=0.012) and AC (0.59(0.28),p=0.036) per 1 standard deviation increase of C3 (SD=33.28 mg/dl). Additional adjustment for either TAT or PVAT nullified the association of C3 with both CAC and AC. Association between C3 and AC was more pronounced at higher volumes of TAT, independent of potential covariates (p=0.036). C4 was not associated with any of the calcification measures. Conclusions: Higher levels of C3 were significantly associated with greater CAC and AC scores in women at midlife. These associations were explained by volumes of TAT and PVAT. Our findings extend support to the outside-in theory of atherosclerosis and suggest TAT as a potential source of circulating C3. Similar results are reported in unhealthy populations. The public health significance lies in the fact that by extending these findings to the general population, we have potentially found a non-invasive biomarker that could be useful in early diagnosis of subclinical atherosclerosis. These findings need to be replicated in larger samples

A survey on NLP based automatic extractive text summarization using spacy

Automatic abstraction of text is considered one of the most difficult problems because mathematically there is no real way to test a summary but one can distinguish between the appropriate summary. Also, abbreviations may be of a variety of abstractive forms in which new phrases and terms are used, in contrast Extractive form in which scoring sentences from enter textual content gets extracted as a summary sentence. The growing discovery of online facts has necessitated extensive research within the region of automated text within the Natural language processing (NLP). Over the course of the year, researchers worked on them in many domains. Therefore, the survey plans to look at the number of commonly used processes within single-line and multi-line summaries, providing unique emphasis on real-world approaches and clear strategies. Some well-known techniques that focus on specific information of the default summary are mentioned

Complement proteins and arterial calcification in middle aged women: Cross-sectional effect of cardiovascular fat. The SWAN Cardiovascular Fat Ancillary Study.

BackgroundCVD risk increases in women after menopause. Recent data suggest higher levels of complement protein C3 and cardiovascular fat (CF) in postmenopausal women. Whether complement proteins are associated with early markers of atherosclerosis in healthy midlife women has never been evaluated. Additionally, the potential impact of the local CF on these associations has never been assessed.MethodsParticipants (n = 100, age (mean(SD)):50.48(2.63), 50% premenopausal) were from the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN). Arterial calcification (aortic-AC and coronary-CAC) and CF volumes around the heart and aorta (total heart-TAT and aortic perivascular adipose tissue-PVAT) were quantified using EBCT scans. AC and CAC were each evaluated as presence (Agatston scores >0) and extent of calcification (log (Agatston scores+1)). Logistic and linear regression models were used for statistical analysis.ResultsAdjusting for age, race, menopausal status and lipids, C3 was significantly associated with both presence and extent of AC and CAC, all P values <0.05. Associations between C3 and presence and extent of AC and CAC were explained by additional adjustment for log TAT and log PVAT, respectively. Association between C3 and log(AC+1) was more pronounced at higher volumes of log TAT (interaction-P = 0.013) adjusting for study variables. No associations were found with C4.ConclusionsHigher C3 was significantly associated with presence and greater extent of arterial calcification in midlife women. These associations were explained by higher volumes of CF, suggesting CF as a potential source of C3. C3 could be a potential non-invasive biomarker of early diagnosis of atherosclerosis. These findings need to be replicated in larger studies

Complement proteins and arterial calcification in middle aged women: Cross-sectional effect of cardiovascular fat. The SWAN Cardiovascular Fat Ancillary Study.

BackgroundCVD risk increases in women after menopause. Recent data suggest higher levels of complement protein C3 and cardiovascular fat (CF) in postmenopausal women. Whether complement proteins are associated with early markers of atherosclerosis in healthy midlife women has never been evaluated. Additionally, the potential impact of the local CF on these associations has never been assessed.MethodsParticipants (n = 100, age (mean(SD)):50.48(2.63), 50% premenopausal) were from the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN). Arterial calcification (aortic-AC and coronary-CAC) and CF volumes around the heart and aorta (total heart-TAT and aortic perivascular adipose tissue-PVAT) were quantified using EBCT scans. AC and CAC were each evaluated as presence (Agatston scores >0) and extent of calcification (log (Agatston scores+1)). Logistic and linear regression models were used for statistical analysis.ResultsAdjusting for age, race, menopausal status and lipids, C3 was significantly associated with both presence and extent of AC and CAC, all P values <0.05. Associations between C3 and presence and extent of AC and CAC were explained by additional adjustment for log TAT and log PVAT, respectively. Association between C3 and log(AC+1) was more pronounced at higher volumes of log TAT (interaction-P = 0.013) adjusting for study variables. No associations were found with C4.ConclusionsHigher C3 was significantly associated with presence and greater extent of arterial calcification in midlife women. These associations were explained by higher volumes of CF, suggesting CF as a potential source of C3. C3 could be a potential non-invasive biomarker of early diagnosis of atherosclerosis. These findings need to be replicated in larger studies

Implementation of NLP based automatic text summarization using spacy

The amount of data on the Internet has increased exponentially over the past decade. Therefore, we need a solution that converts this massive amount of raw information into useful information that the human brain can understand. One such common technique in research that helps when dealing with large amounts of data is text summarization. Automatic summarization is a well-known approach to reduce documents to key ideas. This works by storing important information by creating a shortened version of the text. Text summaries are divided into extraction and abstraction methods. The extraction summary method minimizes the summarization burden by selecting a subset of relevant sentences from the actual text. There are many methods, but researchers specializing in natural language processing (NLP) are particularly attracted to the extraction method. The meaning of the sentence is calculated using linguistic and statistical features. In this work, extractive and abstract methods for summarizing texts were examined. This white paper uses a spacey algorithm to analyze the above methods, resulting in fewer iterations and a more focused summary

Associations Between Lean Mass, Muscle Strength and Power, and Skeletal Size, Density and Strength in Older Men.

Studies examining the relationship between muscle parameters and bone strength have not included multiple muscle measurements and/or both central and peripheral skeletal parameters. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between lean mass, muscle strength and power, and skeletal size, bone density, and bone strength. We studied the association between appendicular lean mass (ALM), grip strength, and leg power, and central quantitative computed tomography (QCT) parameters in 2857 men aged 65 years or older; peripheral QCT was available on a subset (n = 786). ALM, grip strength, and leg power were measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), Jamar dynamometer, and the Nottingham Power Rig, respectively. Multivariable models adjusting for potential confounders including age, race, study site, BMI, and muscle measurements were developed and least squares means were generated from linear regression models. For the multivariable model, percent differences of bone parameters between lowest (Q1) and highest quartiles (Q4) of ALM, grip strength, and leg power were reported. ALM was significantly associated with central and peripheral QCT parameters: percent higher values (Q4 versus Q1) ranging from 3.3% (cortical volumetric bone mineral density [vBMD] of the femoral neck) to 31% (vertebral strength index of the spine). Grip strength was only significantly associated with radial parameters: percent higher values (Q4 versus Q1) ranging from 2.5% (periosteal circumference) to 7.5% (33% axial strength index [SSIx]). Leg power was associated with vertebral strength and lower cross-sectional area with percent lower values (Q4 versus Q1) of -11.9% and -2.7%, respectively. In older men, stronger associations were observed for ALM compared to muscle strength and power. Longitudinal studies are needed to examine the relationship between independent changes in muscle measurements and skeletal size, density and strength. © 2018 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research

Associations Between Lean Mass, Muscle Strength and Power, and Skeletal Size, Density and Strength in Older Men.

Studies examining the relationship between muscle parameters and bone strength have not included multiple muscle measurements and/or both central and peripheral skeletal parameters. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between lean mass, muscle strength and power, and skeletal size, bone density, and bone strength. We studied the association between appendicular lean mass (ALM), grip strength, and leg power, and central quantitative computed tomography (QCT) parameters in 2857 men aged 65 years or older; peripheral QCT was available on a subset (n = 786). ALM, grip strength, and leg power were measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), Jamar dynamometer, and the Nottingham Power Rig, respectively. Multivariable models adjusting for potential confounders including age, race, study site, BMI, and muscle measurements were developed and least squares means were generated from linear regression models. For the multivariable model, percent differences of bone parameters between lowest (Q1) and highest quartiles (Q4) of ALM, grip strength, and leg power were reported. ALM was significantly associated with central and peripheral QCT parameters: percent higher values (Q4 versus Q1) ranging from 3.3% (cortical volumetric bone mineral density [vBMD] of the femoral neck) to 31% (vertebral strength index of the spine). Grip strength was only significantly associated with radial parameters: percent higher values (Q4 versus Q1) ranging from 2.5% (periosteal circumference) to 7.5% (33% axial strength index [SSIx]). Leg power was associated with vertebral strength and lower cross-sectional area with percent lower values (Q4 versus Q1) of -11.9% and -2.7%, respectively. In older men, stronger associations were observed for ALM compared to muscle strength and power. Longitudinal studies are needed to examine the relationship between independent changes in muscle measurements and skeletal size, density and strength. © 2018 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research

Complement proteins and arterial calcification in middle aged women: Cross-sectional effect of cardiovascular fat. The SWAN Cardiovascular Fat Ancillary Study

BACKGROUND: CVD risk increases in women after menopause. Recent data suggest higher levels of complement protein C3 and cardiovascular fat (CF) in postmenopausal women. Whether complement proteins are associated with early markers of atherosclerosis in healthy midlife women has never been evaluated. Additionally, the potential impact of the local CF on these associations has never been assessed. METHODS: Participants (n=100, age (mean(SD)):50.48(2.63), 50% premenopausal) were from the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN). Arterial calcification (aortic-AC and coronary-CAC) and CF volumes around the heart and aorta (total heart-TAT and aortic perivascular adipose tissue-PVAT) were quantified using EBCT scans. AC and CAC were each evaluated as presence (Agatston scores>0) and extent of calcification (log (Agatston scores +1)). Logistic and linear regression models were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Adjusting for age, race, menopausal status and lipids, C3 was significantly associated with both presence and extent of AC and CAC, all P values <0.05. Associations between C3 and presence and extent of AC and CAC were explained by additional adjustment for logTAT and logPVAT, respectively. Association between C3 and log(AC+1) was more pronounced at higher volumes of logTAT (interaction-P=0.013) adjusting for study variables. No associations were found with C4. CONCLUSIONS: Higher C3 was significantly associated with presence and greater extent of arterial calcification in midlife women. These associations were explained by higher volumes of CF, suggesting CF as a potential source of C3. C3 could be a potential non-invasive biomarker of early diagnosis of atherosclerosis. These findings need to be replicated in larger studies